Boiling Hot with Boyce Watkins is a hot show featuring Dr. Boyce Watkins, a Finance Professor at Syracuse University. Dr. Watkins is the author of "What if George Bush were a Black Man?" and "Everything you ever wanted to know about college". He also makes regular appearances on CNN, BET, ESPN, CBS and other national networks.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Dr. Laura and the N-Word: She Needs a Reality Check

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is at it again. Appearing on The Today Show this morning to promote a book about revenge, she dug up her infamous n-word controversy from last August. For those of your who don't remember, Dr. Laura repeatedly hurled the n-word several times at a black caller who was clearly offended by what she was saying. She then told Today Show host Matt Lauer that the controversy was a "blessing", because she is now on Sirius/XM, where she can use the word all day long and not be sanctioned for it. Good for her.

Adding further insult to injury, Dr. Laura seized an opportunity in a later segment to irrationally compare herself to the comedian Bill Cosby. She claims an unnamed "they" (presumably progressive African-Americans) "Uncle Tom'ed" Cosby because he spoke out in favor of traditional values.

I watched the interviews on The Today Show and again listened to her n-word rant on the radio to get a take on Dr. Laura and her concept of a double standard. During the rant, Dr. Laura seemed angry about the fact that black people can use the word and she cannot. She also comes off as a self-righteous, incredibly arrogant demagogue who believes she possesses a degree of moral authority that trumps everyone else. Maybe that's why her network likes her, but I certainly do not.